Oral Health Program

Mission

To achieve optimal oral health for all by eliminating
oral health disparities in Rhode Island while also integrating oral health with overall health. To achieve
this mission, the OHP focuses on prevention of oral disease through assurance of state-level oral
health and public health leadership, documentation of the burden of oral disease in Rhode Island, and
collaboration with statewide partners and the Rhode Island Oral Health Commission.

2012 Accomplishments and Milestones

The SEAL RI! Project, funded through the Maternal & Child Health Title V program, supported dental screenings for 815 children and provision of dental sealants for 454 children with indicated clinical need.

Key Focus Areas

Rhode Island is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Oral Health to establish, strengthen, and expand capacity to plan, implement, and evaluate population-based oral disease prevention and health promotion programs. With this support, the Oral Health Program has made significant progress towards building a sustainable administrative structure with oral health and public health leadership and staff to address the oral health of all Rhode Islanders.

Partners

The Oral Health Professional Advisory Council provides guidance to the Oral Health Program on programmatic and policy issues related to oral health access, effective oral health promotion and disease prevention strategies, and appropriate measures designed to improve the oral health status of Rhode Islanders.

Rhode Island Oral Health Commission

The Special Senate Commission on Oral Health was established in 2001 to provide a coordinated statewide effort toward achieving optimal oral health and access to dental services for all Rhode Islanders. The Rhode Island Oral Health Commission evolved from this foundational group of stakeholders in 2010, and it expanded as a coalition to further the work of the Special Senate Commission. more